Little Red Riding Hood
by chromaticlouds
Summary: Elsa's high school friend comes back into her life, bringing back old feelings and memories. With him comes a new friend, someone Elsa falls for harder than she ever has for anyone. How will she cope with her feelings when she knows her love is wrong?
1. Chapter 1

Elsa's phone buzzed twice, pulling her focus away from the canvas in front of her. Grimacing at the paint stains on her hands, she grabbed a rag and went to the sink, stopping to glance at the message on the screen.

_Hey Elsa, it's been ages! Wanna hang at the usual spot? I'm bringing someone I want you to meet. - Kristoff_

She turned the tap on and got to work on the stubborn paint splotches. Kristoff had been her best friend through all of high school. The two of them had stuck together like glue, fighting off the bullies and offering a shoulder after hard breakups. As they finished high school and moved on to college and jobs, they had kept in contact less and less, especially when Kristoff had moved a few states away.

As she scrubbed, Elsa pondered the rest of the text. Kristoff must have met a girl, she thought, and probably wanted Elsa's opinion of her. The two of them were always seeking each others' opinion when they hooked up with a new sweetheart. Elsa growled at a particularly resilient spot and dried her hands, then grabbed her phone and typed out a reply.

_Sure, I'm doing nothing anyway. See you at 1?_

Dropping her phone back on the bed, she crossed the messy studio apartment to the closet and grabbed the shirt that looked the least wrinkled. She pulled it on and studied herself in the mirror. The messy braid, paint marked-face, and wrinkled shirt stared back at her, daring her to think about leaving the apartment. Elsa stuck her tongue out at her reflection and fixed her hair a bit, then grabbed her phone and headed out.

Her jeep sat outside, baked in the sun, the black painted peeled. She climbed in and turned the key. The engine sputtered and she kicked at the car with an angry grunt. Giving it another try, she turned the key again and the engine grumbled to life. With a sigh and a last glance in her rear-view mirror to check her hair, she headed off to meet Kristoff and his lady-friend.

The jeep growled and purred as Elsa pulled into the parking lot of the coffee shop she and Kristoff had treated like a second home throughout high school. She cut the engine and took a deep breath, letting it out as she made sure her hair was still alright after the windy drive. Satisfied enough with her appearance, she left the jeep and went inside.

"Elsa!" The voice greeted her the moment she entered, and brought her back to all those years ago. She spotted Kristoff across the shop and walked over to his booth. She sat down and he handed her a styrofoam cup. "I hope you still like vanilla mocha."

"Always," Elsa replied. She took a sip of the scalding liquid and sat back in the booth with a sigh. "Ten years, huh?"

"Nearly, yeah. Why didn't we keep in touch?" A frown crept up Kristoff's face and Elsa looked down at her cup. It really was her fault. She had gotten swept up in art school and painting and forgotten her old friends.

"Sorry," she sighed, "I should have called, or at least sent a letter or something."

Kristoff laughed at that, and looked out and away, towards the other patrons, then towards the little girl busily playing on the floor. Elsa took another sip, then a deep breath. "I guess letters are more of your corner, right? Maybe I should have sent a painting." Elsa cringed at her own words and sank down into her seat. Why did she think stupid jokes really mend together a relationship that fell apart ten years ago?

"Really, though, don't beat yourself up about it, Elsa," Kristoff said, pulling her out of her thoughts. "I could have sent something too." The two of them sat for a bit, avoiding eye contact and drinking their coffee. As Elsa took a particularly long sip, she remembered Kristoff's text. Gulping down the burning coffee and coughing, she set down her cup and leaned forward.

"So where's Ms. Kristoff?" She raised an eyebrow, expecting some mystery girl to appear out of thin air. Kristoff coughed.

"Well, here's how it is. After high school I met this great girl, right? Her name was Hannah, and she was amazing. At least, she was at first." He sighed and sunk into the chair, then looked up to meet Elsa's eyes.

Elsa reached out, gently grabbing her friend's arm. "What happened?"

"She cheated on me with a younger guy. Some rich lawyer punk," he said, sadness coating his words. Elsa's heart sank. "She took whatever she could out of the divorce."

"I'm so sorry, Kristoff," Elsa said as she squeezed his arm, wishing she knew a better way to comfort her friend. "Um, how long ago was this?"

"Four years ago, give or take a few months," he replied. "Luckily, she didn't get the most important part of my life." He gestured to a girl sitting at the next booth, and she came over to the table. Hopping into the booth next to him, she smiled up at Elsa. Elsa smiled back, looking at the girl more closely. Freckles covered her face and neck, and her long red hair was pulled aside into two small braids. Her big blue eyes beamed up at Elsa, then turned to Kristoff as she leaned into him.

"Elsa, meet Anna," Kristoff said, "my daughter."


	2. Chapter 2

"Huh."

Elsa sat back and looked between Kristoff and Anna, studying them. There was very little resemblance between the two, Anna must have gotten most of her appearance from her mother. She sure was a cute kid, though. Elsa smiled at the way she snuggled against Kristoff, snoozing against his arm.

"Hello, Anna," she said, smiling down at the girl, "I'm Elsa." Anna opened her eyes and beamed up at Elsa, her blue eyes shining. "I'm Princess Anna."

Kristoff chuckled, "Sorry, she's going through a bit of a princess phase." He ruffled his daughter's hair. Anna's eyes drifted up and down Elsa, stopping at her hands.

"What's that?" Anna was pointing at Elsa's hand, and she turned it to look. Spots of paint, while faint, still covered her hands.

"Oh, that's just paint," she said, holding her hands forward to show the curious girl. "I get a bit messy when I'm painting, and it's hard to get off completely."

The girl's eyes lit up and she hopped in her seat. "I wanna see your paintings!" She grabbed Elsa's hands with hers and bounced around. Elsa grinned and looked over at Kristoff.

"It's alright with me, although my place is… fairly messy," she giggled.

Kristoff shrugged. "Whatever the Princess commands," he said with a smile.

"Yay!"

Elsa turned the lock and pushed open the door, letting out the smell of paint mixed with a faint odor of chinese food. Kristoff coughed as he followed her in, making a face.

"You live in here? Like this?" He gestured towards the messy floor and shelving, pointing out open paint supplies, dirty clothes, and take-out boxes. Elsa smiled guiltily, opening some windows to let the paint smell out.

"It's… not so bad. You get used to it," she said, shrugging, "I get really focused on painting and I forget to clean."

"That's really scary!"

Anna's yell drew their attention, and they turned to find her staring up at a painting on the far wall. A large, grey wolf stood in the forest, teeth bared and ready to attack. Elsa walked over to her, picking up trash and clothes as she went. Anna let loose a small sound, almost a whimper, and backed away from the large art piece.

"You don't like wolves?," Elsa asked. She leaned down next to the girl, gently placing her hand on Anna's shoulder. Anna shook her head, and Elsa smiled softly at her. "Want to touch it?" Anna shook her head fiercely and ran back to Kristoff.

"Sorry, I didn't think that would set her off," Elsa said, feeling bad for scaring the little girl. Kristoff shrugged and put his arm around Anna.

"Got any more nightmare art in here?" He joked. Elsa made a face, then went back to cleaning the room. "This stuff is really good, though, Elsa. Seriously."

Kristoff walked around, staring at her art and leaning in to look at it. "You paint a lot of animals," he said. He turned back to Elsa, waving his arms around her room again. She had finished tidying up and was sitting on her bed, watching Kristoff check out her art, little Anna in tow.

"Woah, it's a totally different place. Someone might actually live here," he joked.

Anna peeked out from behind him, and pointed at a small piece of art on a shelf. "Who's that?" She reached up and managed to pull down the painting, holding it in front of her.

Elsa offered her hand and Anna handed the painting to her. "Oh, that's Little Red Riding Hood," she said with a smile, "do you know her story?" Anna shook her head.

"Well, she went to take some food to her grandma, and a big bad wolf followed her and tried to eat her," Elsa said, talking softly as to not scare the girl, "but a lumberjack stopped the wolf and saved her."

"That's scary," announced the girl, "I don't like it."

Kristoff chuckled. "Anna, it all works out in the end. Don't worry. Besides," he said as he ruffled her hair again, "not all wolves are bad. Just the bad ones."

"Eloquent," Elsa quipped. It was Kristoff's turn to make a face. He scooped up Anna, tickling her a bit.

"I think we should get going, this princess gets cranky without her midday nap." Kristoff ignored the glare from his daughter, smiling at Elsa. "It was really great to see you again, Elsa. We definitely need to hang out again, soon."

Elsa nodded, walking with them to the door and holding it open as Kristoff and Anna passed through. "Definitely. I look forward to it," she said. "I'll see you guys later."

"See ya, Elsa." Kristoff wiggled the girl in his arms. "Say bye to Miss Elsa, Anna." She waved sleepily, settling against her father's shoulder. Kristoff smiled, then carried her slowly to their car.

Elsa watched as they left, then headed back inside. She flopped onto her bed, sighing. After all this time, having someone she used to be so close to back in her life felt odd. And someone from high school showing up with a child already a decade old was surreal. Still, it felt good to have someone to really talk to again. Kristoff was the same way she remembered him, only a bit older, on the surface. She could tell the pains and stresses of his life had really taken a toll on him, though.

At least he had Anna. She could tell he cared about his girl deeply. Elsa pulled the covers aside and looked at the clock. The numbers stared back at her, one o'clock in the afternoon. She sighed and pulled the blankets up over her head, blocking out the sun from her now-open windows.

The visit had reminded Elsa of something she had worked hard to forget, and her heart was starting to ache. Elsa was alone. Even with Kristoff back, she felt lonely. Stifling a small whimper, Elsa clutched the blankets against herself and tried to fall asleep.


	3. Chapter 3

A tear ran down Elsa's cheek. She reached up to wipe it away, but small fingers beat her to it, gently wiping up the tears. Anna stared down at her, Elsa's head resting in the young girl's lap.

"Don't cry, Miss Elsa," she said. She had a small, sad smile on her face. "When I'm at school, if I get sad, I don't cry. I only cry around daddy."

She gently stroked Elsa's hair, her own tresses brushing against Elsa's face as she leaned down. "I don't cry because I'm a princess. Princesses don't cry in front of people."

Elsa sniffled and reached up to wipe her tears, nodding slightly. Anna smiled down at her.

"And neither do queens, Miss Elsa," she said, "neither do queens."

Elsa woke slowly, rubbing at her face and wiping her tears away. She felt pathetic. Had she really become so helpless that she had to dream of little girls telling her to be strong? The bedsprings squeaked as she climbed out of bed, glaring at the clock as it glowed belligerently, reminding her that she had gone to sleep in the middle of the day. Staring out at the midnight moon in the sky, she grabbed a beer from the fridge and opened the window, not caring if the screeching, sliding noises woke any of her neighbors.

As she climbed out onto the fire escape, she sighed. The traffic roared down the street, reminding her that plenty of people were awake. Still, she felt alone. She sipped the beer and let herself drift into thoughts of her past. The last time she had seen Kristoff was just a few weeks after graduation. They both knew that it would be the last time they would be together for a while. Kristoff had brought over a case of beer and the two had downed it before the night was over, blasting music and watching awful movies.

Elsa had never cared for physical contact, but that night, whether the impending loneliness or the alcohol, something had spurred her on. All throughout the night she had built up the courage, until finally, during a particularly awful romance scene in one of the movies, she kissed him. The kiss turned into a makeout session, and then something more, and the night ended snuggled in bed. Morning brought awkward greetings and mutual regret. Still, all those years of friendship had brought them closer together. Elsa had realized after that night that she really did have feelings for him. She had just realized too late.

Kristoff showing up now had brought all of those feelings back, even after ten years. Elsa swallowed a particularly large gulp from the bottle. She wasn't ready. The bottle emptied, Elsa sighed and leaned back to stare at the stars. Her mind kept drifting back to that night, and to all the other times they had spent together. Getting past him had taken months, and now he had come back into her life again, so casually. Nothing about it felt fair. Still, she didn't want him gone.

With a groan, Elsa pulled herself to her feet and climbed back through the window, tossing the bottle into the trash and grabbing her brushes and paints. With a broad stroke, she began to paint, working out her stress into her art. Anna's red braids and green dress began to take shape as she recreated the emotional dream she had awoken from.

The doorbell's shrill ring woke Elsa immediately. Shaking the drowsiness away, her clarity returned as the doorbell sounded once more. She had a buyer coming over today to look at her art. "Just a minute!" She yelled through the door as she hurried to tidy up, making sure her best paintings were displayed well and checking her hair in the window's reflection. As she went to open the door, the new canvas, painted with the deep colors of her dream, caught her eye. She tossed a sheet over it, still not sure how she felt about it and the emotions that had pushed her to paint it. Taking a deep breath, she opened the door.

"Elsa, hello!" Her buyer strode in quickly, a big smile on her face. The large, older woman was Elsa's primary customer, and had a fondness both for Elsa and her animal art.

"Hello, Adeline," Elsa replied, giving her best smile back as she stepped out of her buyer's way to allow her some space to look around. "My personal favorites are over here," she said, pointing towards the back of the apartment.

Adeline went from painting to painting, studying them and writing notes on a yellow pad. Elsa nervously kicked a beer bottle under her bed as she wondered how she had missed it in her cleanup. She went to the woman's side, watching her write on her pad.

"Well, what do you think?" She asked, a nervous tinge to her voice.

"I'll take these," Adeline replied as she handed the list she had written to Elsa, "someone will come by to pick them up later as usual." Elsa scanned the list and tried to keep her excitement contained. The list was long, containing some of her larger works and pieces she had hoped would appeal to her buyer. Adeline offered her hand and Elsa shook it. "Fantastic pieces as usual, Elsa," she said with a smile, "thank you for letting me take a look." Elsa nodded with a grin. Adeline turned to leave, only just noticing the covered easel in the room. "What's this," She asked, "some secret project of yours?"

"Something like that," answered Elsa. She fidgeted nervously. Hopefully, the older woman would just let it go at that.

"Can I see it? You've got this old broad's curiosity piqued," Adeline grinned at Elsa. Elsa shrugged. Her skin felt cold as she reached out to pull the cover off. She pulled it away and prepared herself for the judgemental rant. The colors and strokes of the painting seemed to glare at her from the canvas, as if the painting itself was judging her for creating it.

"Is this you?" Adeline asked curiously as she stared at the image, pointing to Elsa's prone form, crying in Anna's lap. Elsa stared at the floor.

"Yeah, it's me. It was a dream I had," she confessed.

"And her," she raised her finger now to Anna, "is she.. an angel?" Elsa's eyes opened wide and she looked up. Anna looked like an angel to her? She realized her chance to get out of explaining why she had a painting of her friend's daughter and herself in a possibly compromising position.

Elsa nodded, "Yes, I think so. It was a dream, after all." Adeline stepped back from the painting, then turned to Elsa.

"I love it. I think I have someone who would love this, if you would let me take it off your hands," said Adeline. Elsa slowly shook her head. Not only did she not want to part with it yet, the idea of it ending up somewhere where Kristoff might see it frightened her.

"Sorry, it's not for sale," she said. Adeline smiled and nodded. Elsa smiled back, a small, forced smile. Adeline said her goodbyes and left, reminding Elsa that someone would be by to pick up the paintings and pay Elsa.

Elsa sat down on her bed and stared around the room, then started gathering up the paintings she had sold. Each time she passed the dream painting, she glanced up at Anna. The dream had felt real, but dreams usually did. She could still feel Anna's hands wiping her tears away. Suddenly she found herself longing deeply for that touch again. Dropping to the floor, she pulled her knees up against her. She needed to be around people, as much as the idea repulsed her. Grabbing her phone, she sent a text to Kristoff.

_Can you hang out tomorrow? I just need to be around somebody. - Elsa_


	4. Chapter 4

The music thumped and pounded, too loud for its own good. Elsa sighed and watched Kristoff and a friend playing some silly dancing video game as she sipped her beer. She had wanted to spend some time with Kristoff alone, maybe eating pizza and watching stupid movies like they did back in high school. Kristoff's idea of fun seemed to be inviting all of his college buddies over to get drunk and make fools of themselves. At least with them so involved in the game, none of them were bothering Elsa. She watched as Kristoff and his friend started trying to trip each other, shoving and pushing to win the game. A small smile tugged at her mouth. This was better than sitting in her paint-smothered apartment, even if it was overwhelming.

Sven, one of Kristoff's noisier friends, plopped down onto the couch next to Elsa. She moved aside quickly to avoid his flailing arm as he tried to slide it around her.

"Hey girl, are you not having fun?" He asked as he gestured to Elsa's beer. "You should finish that and have some fun with us. I bet you're really good at video games, right?"

Elsa looked to Kristoff to save her from the awkward situation, but he was still focused on the game. She turned back to the drunk on the couch next to her, giving her best unwelcoming grimace. He just grinned back at her and leaned over to kiss her, his breath full of alcohol. Elsa grunted in disgust and shoved him away. What a pig, she thought as she went to the bathroom and shut the door.

"Miss Elsa?" Elsa turned to see Anna in the bathtub, covered in bubbles. She sat down on the floor and studied the little girl, her red hair plastered wetly to her face.

"Hi, Anna," she said, "How is the princess tonight?" Anna smiled, then frowned.

"What's wrong, Miss Elsa?" Elsa frowned back at her, not sure how to explain it all.

"Your dad's party is just a little bit loud," she said finally. Anna made a face and folded her arms on the edge of the tub.

"It is," she agreed as she rested her chin on her arms with a sigh. "He does this a lot. I just sit in here the whole time 'cause his friends are weird." She rubbed the suds into her hair and scrubbed, then dunked her head under the water. She surfaced and shook her hair a bit, then stood up and grabbed her towel. Elsa blushed as she found herself studying the young girl's naked form. Anna's curves were just starting to form. Elsa followed the water as it dripped and ran down the girl's freckled skin, then looked up only to find Anna staring back at her, an equal blush on her face.

"S-sorry," Elsa stammered as she looked away so the girl could towel off. She took a few heavy sips of her beer as she tried to understand why she had been staring so intensely at the body of a girl who wasn't even out of elementary school. She was Kristoff's kid, for heaven's sake, and here Elsa had been ogling her like she was a piece of meat. A piece of freckled, lean, soft, adorable meat. Elsa felt her blush grow, and she glanced over at the girl as she dried off. Anna had turned away and was drying her legs, exposing her back to Elsa. Elsa couldn't take it anymore. She stood up and left the room quickly, then slid down against the wall outside.

What a complete pervert she was. Her friend had invited her over probably out of pity for her, especially after that pathetic text. And she had the nerve to go ogling his pre-teen daughter while she bathed. If Anna even breathed about it to Kristoff she knew their friendship would be over as quickly as it had begun again, and she might even find herself in a cell. That was probably what she deserved. She took a deep breath to calm herself, and finished her beer. If Anna was going to make a fuss about it, she already would have, Elsa thought to herself. It was a drunken mistake and Kristoff would surely look past that. He certainly didn't seem to care about Sven's advance on her on the couch.

Elsa's thoughts were interrupted by the bathroom door opening, and Anna stepped out wrapped in her towel. She glanced down at Elsa, then looked towards the living room. Seeing no one, she stepped toward Elsa and slipped her towel over the older girl's head. Elsa went rigid. She was inches away from the girl's most private place and Anna wanted her there. She felt her heart thumping hard as a blush spread over her whole body. And just as soon as it started, it was over. The door to Anna's room clicked shut.

Elsa tried to control her breathing. She wanted nothing more than to bound into Anna's room and make forbidden love to her. Anna seemed much older to her now, after such actions. When she had first met her, she'd said little, and Elsa almost mistook her for much younger. Now she could see it was just shyness. Still Elsa wondered what had changed now, and why it had changed so dramatically.

"Elsa, you okay?" Elsa gasped and looked up to see Kristoff at the end of the hall, a concerned look on his face. She nodded weakly and shakily got to her feet.

"I think I'm gonna go," she said, and he shook his head.

"No way, even in my state I can tell you've had too much alcohol to drive. Just stay the night. The guest room's prepped." He pointed to the end of the hall. She sighed. There was no arguing with Kristoff about these kinds of things, and he'd probably just pick her up and put her in the bed himself, if he could. She put her hand on the wall and wobbled her way to the guest room, Anna still on her mind.

Elsa lay in the bed, staring at the ceiling. The room was cold, but her skin felt flushed all over as she replayed the night's events in her head. She heard the doorknob click and turned, expecting Kristoff to be checking up on her. Instead, Anna's red braids and freckled face poked through the opening, and she crept inside the room.

"Can I sleep in here with you?" She asked, nervously kicking her foot back and forth. Elsa stammered back, then nodded, scooting over to make room for the younger girl. Her entire body felt like it was on fire. The bed shook slightly as Anna climbed in. Elsa looked down at the younger girl and felt Anna press against her. Elsa's body exploded in passion. She just couldn't take it anymore. She leaned down and kissed Anna softly. Anna kissed back, and their lips parted, tongues exploring and mingling as they shared their excitement. Anna pulled away from the kiss and stared up at her with big, nervous eyes. She took Elsa's hand in hers and guided it down, sliding it into her pajamas.

Elsa awoke to the sun shining down over her. She closed her eyes again and muttered curses at the painful light, then remembered the small, warm form clinging to her. Guilt washed over her. They'd done things that she knew were wrong. She was over three times this girl's age. Anna's father was just down the hall, and if he knew what Elsa had done, she might very well be dead. Anna stirred. She stared up at Elsa with a small smile.

"Good morning, Miss Elsa," she said. She sat up and stretched, then snuggled against Elsa with a contented sigh. Elsa's erupted with mixed emotions, her guilt ballooning out of control. She had corrupted this innocent girl.

"Anna," Elsa started, "I did something bad last night." Elsa didn't know how else to put it.

The girl shook her head. "No, Miss Elsa. We both did something bad." Elsa wondered if this was supposed to make her feel less guilty. "I came onto you, Miss Elsa. It's my fault, not yours."

Elsa shook her head at Anna. "I should have known better. I'm an adult and I let this happen," she buried her face in her hands, "I took advantage of you."

Anna kneeled in front of Elsa, kissing her softly.

"You didn't take advantage of me. We did something together," she said with a smile, "and I really enjoyed it." Elsa's emotions tugged at her from different directions again.

Anna sat back down and stared at the ceiling.

"Besides, Miss Elsa. This isn't my first time." Elsa's heart sank. Had someone abused her? Was that why she was so shy? Elsa gently took Anna in her arms, squeezing her tight.

"Who have you done this with?" She asked, fraught with worry.

"My mom. We used to do this all the time."


	5. Chapter 5

"Who have you done this with?" She asked, fraught with worry.

"My mom. We used to do this all the time."

Elsa stared blankly at the girl. Her emotions swam.

"Your... your mom did things to you?"

"With me," Anna replied, pulling her knees against her chest. "I enjoyed it."

Elsa stared at the end of the bed, terrified to meet the girl's eyes. The thought of Anna's mother abusing her filled Elsa with horror and yet she could hardly claim she was different.

"Why?" It was all should could manage.

"She wanted me to know my body. It happened once, two years ago. She was just teaching me." Anna pouted. Elsa's heart pounded. "Then again, a few months later. Then a lot."

Anna turned to Elsa and stared up at her, a pleading look in her eyes. Elsa slowly nodded.

"So it was all... it wasn't abusive?"

"No!" Anna nearly shouted, then quieted, a guilty look crossing her features. She pulled the sheets around her. "I liked it. I wanted it."

A question hung in Elsa's throat, waiting for her to gather the courage to ask it.

"Why did you decide to do it with me?"

"Because... you're really nice. And..." Anna trailed off, stifling a small sniffle. "You remind me of her."

Elsa's heart throbbed. She wasn't sure how she felt about that. Gently, she pulled Anna against her, stroking her back.

"You only just met me, though. Aren't you moving too fast?" Elsa's brow furrowed as she waited for the girl's response.

"I don't care," Anna replied. "When mom got her new boyfriend... It changed. He found out and wanted to be part of it. So she made me stop. She made me stop asking, even made me stop visiting. She couldn't make me stop wanting."

Anna clung tighter to Elsa. "When you came into the bathroom. When you looked at me, I felt wanted. And I wanted to feel all those other things again too."

Elsa gently stroked the girl's hair. She couldn't argue that Anna wasn't aware of what was happening. Anna had pushed it all along. She couldn't settle her emotions, her heart thumped and her skin seemed to crawl and shiver constantly. Elsa heard movement outside the room and froze. If Kristoff found the two of them it would be hard to explain, to say the least. Anna met her gaze and nodded. She quickly grabbed her nightgown and pulled it on, then slipped out the door, stopping only to give one last longing look to Elsa.

Two feelings battled in Elsa's mind. Wrongness and rightness fought, swinging at each other with logic, feelings, and the undeniable wanting that Elsa felt so consumed by. Taking a few deep breaths, she slid back into the covers and pulled them around her, taking in their warmth and trying to block out her own mind.

_Thump._ A knock at the door brought Elsa out of the foggy emotional reverie and she groaned quietly.

"Elsa, are you awake?" Kristoff's voice cut into her almost like a knife, the guilt she already felt growing to an intense level as she tried to decide whether to respond or pretend to be asleep.

"Yeah," she finally replied, her voice thick and croaking, as if the guilt was trying to claw its way out through her throat, "I've been up for a while."

"Well there's waffles and bacon, if you want any," Kristoff said. She heard him head back down the hall and she let out the breath she didn't know she had been holding in. She slid out of the bed, pulling on yesterday's clothes and trying to fix her hair in the mirror. She groaned at her reflection and gave up, following the scent of bacon to the kitchen.

"Good morning, Elsa!" Anna smiled softly at her from the table, seemingly back to her normal, everyday, innocent self. Elsa stammered out a reply, then sat down, grabbing herself some breakfast and grabbing the syrup.

"How did you sleep?" Kristoff asked. Elsa felt a blush creeping up as all the night's events came flashing back through her mind, and she gulped.

"I slept alright, thanks for asking," she replied, the words coming out robotic and forced. Kristoff coughed and she looked down at the waffles she had completely drowned in syrup. She put the syrup back and poked at the soggy islands floating in syrup on her plate. "Uh… whoops."

Kristoff laughed a bit. "I guess you're pretty out of it, huh?" Elsa nodded, grabbing her knife and cutting into the waffle, shaking off some of the dripping syrup and taking a bite.

Anna giggled at her, gulping down a bite of waffle before catching Elsa's eye. "Elsa's pretty messy," she said with a wink. Elsa nearly choked on the waffle, her face flushing bright red. She couldn't handle this. She needed to clear her head.

"Um, do you mind if I just head out? There's some things I need to take care of," Elsa fibbed. Kristoff shrugged, standing up to help her to the door. "Sorry about the syrup and stuff, and thanks for letting me spend the night, and for inviting me." Then she was out the door, standing on the front porch in yesterday's clothes, shielding her eyes from the morning sun.

She climbed into her jeep and the guilt crashed down on her. She leaned over the steering wheel and let out a soft groan, shaking softly. _What kind of freak had she turned into, that she would do this kind of thing? _She turned the key and drove out onto the highway, ignoring the speed limit and venting her emotions out. She turned into her complex and pulled into the parking spot, slumping over the steering wheel again, then pulled herself out of the jeep and up the stairs into the apartment.

Elsa tossed her keys at the wall and fell onto her bed, turning the radio on and cranking up the volume, welcoming the painful aches that throbbed in her head as the bass boomed out. She rolled over and stared at the cloth covering her dream painting. _What a sick fuck I am, she thought. I took advantage of a child, I lied to my friend, I betrayed him. I'm a monster._

She turned up the radio even higher, letting it drown out her thoughts. Depeche Mode's 'Policy of Truth'. She recognized the song and the lyrics did nothing to sooth her guilt. _Never again_, she thought. The thought of even seeing either of them again filled her with dread. And yet, she couldn't resist the fact that she felt something for Anna, something besides simple lust. _Too much emotion_, she thought. She pulled herself out of bed, yanking the cover off of the canvas and staring at the painting, at Anna cradling her head so gently, the caring she had so innocently painted before now seeming so twisted by the night's events. She tore down the canvas, rolling it up and grabbing a lighter from the bedside table.

Elsa climbed out onto the fire escape, lighting the painting on one end and watching it catch, the flames licking up the canvas and erasing the evidence of her feelings. _A mistake_, she thought. _It was just a mistake._


End file.
